Marissa, oh, and a lot of other stuff
by dqgilly
Summary: Marissa always had bad luck, but we just happened to catch her at a moment where she makes "A Series of Unfortunate Events" look like a picture book. Yes, she's an OC, but that's only because making up anything about the characters feels wrong. She isn't a Mary-Sue, and I really hope you'll give it a chance.
1. Chapter 1: A Sad Beginning

Spinning. Spinning, spinning, spinning. Not wanting to stop. Feeling the hot light on my face. Hearing the violins in the background. Confidence; knowing that this was my chance.

I know what you're thinking. Well, no I don't, but I'm going to pretend I do anyways: twelve-year-olds don't go to Julliard. This isn't a fairy tale, and I'm not a princess; no exemption card here. But somehow, here I am. About to make history, set records, break rules. I wasn't smart, but I was about to get a scholarship. So close, inches away.

My ankle twisted in the middle of a pirouette. I fell, hard. It happened so fast it took me time to process what had happened. I looked up at the faces of the judges; one cold, one sympathetic, one disappointed.

"I-I'm sorry. I d-don't know how th-this happened." I stuttered. Two of the faces looked downwards. The other, the cold one, Ariana Indìq, shook her head.

"Sorry, sweetheart, but this was already a big jump. You're still a child, and we can't take the risk. You understand, right?" I bit my lip hard, trying to hold back the tears of defeat I could feel heating up my eyes like a backlight, but that just made me want to cry more from the pain.

A tear leaked from my eye, and I tried to get up; of course, in my rush of emotion, I'd forgotten that my ankle was twisted. I promptly collapsed back to the wood floor, and the two other judges, Marcus Antiello and Kiana Jones, rushed up to the stage. I had to get walked to the area outside the concert hall, where my mother was waiting. Her expression switched from excitement to concern almost immediately; her large amber eyes growing wider, her lips parting slightly. She raced over to me, and I loosened myself from the judges' arms and was instantly enveloped in my mother's familiar embrace, the familiar smell of mint and green apple comforting the pain. Not enough, though.

"Sweetie, what happened?" My mother inquired gently, but it was enough to make me start sobbing. I was so close. _So close_. How did this happen? I ruined everything…why? Why me? My dad was gone, my sisters were perfect, and _I _had to live up to that and I _ruined it_. I hate myself…I hate myself, and my life, and my sisters, and the judges, and the universe, and _everything_. What point is there to me? I've practiced for this for months! Why did I have to mess it up the only time it mattered? I'm useless.

The judges were quietly explaining what had happened, and I could feel my mom stroking my head, even though it must've been sweaty.

She was always there for me, even though I was such a disappointment of a daughter. Kelsie was a genius; Olette was one of the best trumpet players in the country; Danielle the best player on the girls' soccer team. Then my mom had me. Dumb, tone-deaf, absurdly uncoordinated. I was the anomaly child, born while my mother and stepfather had been in a short divorce, sharing only half the blood of my sisters; the ones born of my stepdad, the ones who were all flower girls at the wedding where my mom and stepfather were re-married. They all had strawberry-blond hair along with my mother's amber eyes, while I had hair that was an obnoxious, coppery red nothing like my mom's auburn locks; my dark brown eyes way plainer than my mother's gorgeous amber. My sisters had healthy tans, but if I went outside with anything less than SPF 50, my cream-toned skin burned to a crisp. They were better than me in every way, physically and mentally.

The car ride was silent, except for the sound of my own sniffles. My mom took a quick glance at me before turning her gaze back to the road.

"It's going to be okay, Marissa. You're only twelve; it's not your only chance-"

"How can you say that _anything _about this is going to be okay? You're only saying that to try and make me feel better, which is _stupid_. Why can't you just tell me the truth? I'm a screwup of a daughter from a screwup of a relationship that's surrounded by _perfect_ sisters and a _perfect _mother in a _perfect_ relationship! Just _admit it already_!" I yelled, but then shut my mouth and stared at my lap. I loved my mother; we never fought, and she always managed to act like I wasn't a disappointment. She was trying to comfort me, and I yelled at her.

"You are _not_ a disappointment, or a screwup, or a failure." She said, looking over at me with an intense passion in her eyes. I stared at the road, but I could feel her gaze on me. I saw two kids dart across the street, but I didn't really think about it, of course, until it was too late.

"MOM!" I yelled, and her head swiveled back to the road and swerved to avoid them. If only I hadn't been so panicked sounding. If only my mom's reaction hadn't been quite so jerky. If only we hadn't swerved off the road. If only the road hadn't been on a hill. If only, if only, if only. It's all I had time to think about before we crashed and everything went dark.

"Hey…hey…hey! Wake up!" Someone was shaking me, trying to get me up. It was the day of the audition…I'd had the worst dream ever. I opened my eyes, ready to see Olette or Kelsie with an excited grin, no doubt already dressed. That wasn't what I got.

I looked up to see a girl with curly blond hair and gray eyes, concerned but serious. She turned around to look at someone, and I noticed how matted and tangled her hair was.

"Perce, she's conscious." She said, and a guy with a metal baseball bat jogged over.

"M…mu…ma..." I mumbled, trying to speak. My mom was all I was worried about, even though I felt a sharp pain in my left arm and felt a stickiness somewhere on my head.

"I'm so sorry…I think your mother's…passed…" She said, and I started weeping again. I did my best to turn and looked at my mom. She was too pale. I moved my right arm pained inch by pained inch, and touched her wrist. Everything went black again and I could hear Annabeth shouting, panicked.

When I woke up, everything was milky white, and the only thing there was my mother, standing with her auburn hair gorgeously styled in a white and gold halter dress. I bolted right over to her and hugged her. She hugged back tightly, putting her chin on top of my head.

"Mom, where are we?" I asked, looking up, but still clinging to her. A tear traced down her fair skin, but it was golden, not clear.

"Marissa…I'm…not going to be with you anymore. I'm going to…I'm going to be…with great grandma, and Jasper, and Smash." She managed, crying even more.

"Mom…they're all…they're all dead." I was crying, too, now.

She was sobbing now. "I…I am, too, Issa."

I collapsed crying. She hadn't called me "Issa" since my dog, Smash, died when I was 10 years old.

"Then…then…how am I…?" I tried to ask through my tears.

"There's something I never told you, Marissa. Your dad…your dad is Hades." I hate this, I hate myself, but I laughed.

"Are you _kidding_? I get to see you and you say _this_? This isn't a _joke_, mom! This isn't _funny_!" I yelled, in disbelief.

"Marissa, I'm not joking… I wouldn't joke at a time like this." Her tears were drying, making her face look it was made of melting gold. "It sounds ridiculous, but it's true. I-I wanted to tell you, but…just…know that I love you." She was crying again. "Tell your sisters and your stepfather I love them."

"Wait!" I reached out to my mother, not wanting her to be gone. She can't be gone. I love her. She…she can't be...

"I love you, too, mom. I always will," I said, as everything started going dark again.

"_Percy!_" I heard the same voice shriek. "Percy, she's back!" I opened my eyes.

"Wh…who are you?" I tried to ask, my voice hoarse. She looked into my eyes quizzically.

"I'm Annabeth. That guy back there," She said, pointing towards the guy with the dark hair and the baseball bat…why was it pointed? "Is Percy. You were unconscious, woke up, and then passed out again for two hours."

I coughed again, and felt how dry my throat was. My arm pain had diminished slightly, but I still managed to push myself up. I was on the grass by the road, the car's wrecked body a few meters away.

"Is…is my mom…is she really…" I sniffed. "Is she dead?" Annabeth nodded grimly.

"I can't tell you how sorry I am. It's all our fault." I shook my head.

"It was mine. I was upset, and ignoring her, and she was trying to get me to talk to her, and…" My eyes started to sting, tearing quickly.

"I saw you…and…and I yelled and I think…I surprised her too much, and we swerved off the road…" I was crying again. So much crying, too much crying, not being able to stop, even though I wanted to. I felt Annabeth's hand on my shoulder. I looked up at her.

"I- I saw her, when I touched her hand. I think t-that's what-it's what happened when I blacked out." Annabeth frowned.

"What do you mean, you _saw_ her?" She asked. I coughed, and I could taste the saltiness of my own tears.

"We…we were in this place…it was-it was all white, like we were floating. She was in this…this white dress, and her tears were gold, and she told me she was…d-dead…and that…" Annabeth was staring at me, obviously expecting me to keep talking. But she would think I was crazy…_I _think I'm crazy.

"Listen, I know this is all really weird and really sad, but you need to tell me what else she said. It could be important." Her stormy gray eyes were unnerving and serious.

"She…told me I was the daughter of Hades." I whispered.

"She said that? Are you sure?" She asked, and I was surprised. Her expression was still grave, and she didn't seem like she was dismissing me. I bit my lip and nodded, one last tear falling down my face.

"_Percy! Get over here!_" She yelled, and he ran over. His baseball bat was covered in dust, and so was his hair, but it wasn't a baseball bat. It couldn't be, it was way too pointed. But then…

"Does…does he have…is that a sword?" I asked, because swords aren't a good sign, but Annabeth just stared at me, nodded quickly, and turned.

"Percy, she says she had some sort of vision when she blacked out, where her mom said she was a daughter of Hades, and she's seeing through the Mist." I wasn't sure what she was talking about, but apparently it was a big deal, because the Percy guy bent down to look at me, then in a lowered voice asked "Do you think she's…?"

Annabeth nodded. "I think we need to get her on the ship. Maybe Nico can tell." Percy nodded, then picked me up. I whimpered, because my arm still really hurt, just not as bad, and it felt like a few of my ribs might've been bruised, but I didn't fight.

I don't know when I fell asleep, but when I woke up I was in a room with Annabeth and some dark haired guy that looked about 14; definitely not Percy…he was paler, smaller.

"We have to stop meeting like this," Annabeth said with a small, grim smile. I tried pushing myself up, but noticed the crude cast on my arm and then had to manage with my other hand.

"How long was I out this time?" I asked, groggy.

"Two days." She said. The grogginess shot out of my system instantly.

"My sisters are going to be freaking out, and so is Mark, and I'm going to be in so much trouble, and they're going to be so mad, and so upset…mom…" I started crying again when I remembered what had happened. My mom was dead. The reality of it sank like a rock.

"I'm sorry, but you might not be able to see them for a while…we have to do something first." She kept looking at me, her gray eyes even more unsettling than I remembered.

"Do you know about demigods?" She asked, and I shook my head. I might've, but it wasn't any focus of mine right now.

"Well, in Greek mythology, there were gods and goddesses. Sometimes, they would fall in love with mortals, and have children. Those children…well, we have certain special powers sometimes, and generally have to take care of the gods' messes." The dark haired boy chuckled.

"That about sums it up," He said, raising his hand briefly. "I'm Nico, and also, probably your brother." Annabeth looked at him pointedly, like she was saying _'Hey, we were only supposed to completely shock her and essentially upturn her life _once_ today!'_ Nico shrugged.

"Actually, that's what we're trying to figure out. What's your name?" The blond asked.

"Marissa. Marissa Reymond." I said, starting to feel dizzy.

"Do you live in Rome?"

"No, we were here because of me and my sisters. We were going to be here for about two months." I responded, but thinking about everything made me more upset.

"_Πόσο χρονών είσαι;" _Annabeth asked another question. Why she needed to know how old I was, I didn't know, but I just answered and kept crying.

"Twelve." I said, and Annabeth and Nico shared a look, and they engaged in another wordless argument. Annabeth stared at Nico, like she was trying to convince him of something, and Nico, looking unconvinced and kind of angry. After what had to have been at least a minute, Annabeth got up and left the room without saying anything. Nico looked up towards me.

"She'll be right back." He put his elbows on his knees and held his head in his hands. "So Annabeth said you had some sort of vision…?"

I did my best to explain the vision to him, but unlike Annabeth, his face remained almost disturbingly stoic. He lifted his head from his hands.

"Interesting. Well, kids of Hades usually have involvement in death. One girl on board, who's a daughter of Pluto, has power with gold and gems, stuff like that; Pluto's a different story that we really shouldn't get into right now." He said, and it hit me again; apparently, I was a daughter of Hades. Nico laughed, a bit louder; it sounded part joking, part bitter.

"Yeah, the whole _'You're a demigod, have fun' _thing. I'm the youngest of everyone here but Hazel, so I kind of remember how it feels."

"It's just…how is that even possible?" I put my hand to my head, and felt a bandage near my hairline, the pressure making me wince.

Annabeth walked back in, holding what looked like a lemon square. Nico grimaced and looked away.

"Try this," She said, handing me the yellow square. I examined it for a second. It looked just like a lemon square; nothing suspicious, but I was cautious. _You know this is a bad idea,_ I thought. _**Yep,**_I thought again, then took a bite.

It tasted like my mom's coconut vanilla cookies, and my dying tears kicked back up, remembering her. But then I started to feel better, like I was being warmed up from the inside out. My arm stopped hurting, and the area on my head where the bandage was tightened, then released and didn't hurt anymore, either.

Annabeth looked at Nico like _I told you so_, then looked back toward me. Confused, I chewed the bar and waited for someone to say something.

"So do you know what you just ate?" Annabeth asked, and I blushed, and I felt my cheeks color. Had I made the wrong choice? Was I about to pass out and die? I shook my head slowly.

"That was ambrosia; it's the food of the gods. If any mortal were to eat it, they would burn up and die." She said, and I couldn't help but get what I imagined must've been a bemused smile.

"No big deal, right?" I managed to get out. Nico laughed, and Annabeth grew a hint of a smile, but she kept talking with those stormy, stern eyes.

"You might not be a daughter of Hades, though. We can't know that for sure." Annabeth looked at Nico. "Unless there's something you know that can prove it?"

He laughed again. "You could try talking to him, but he can be a bit of a deadbeat."

"Talking to him?" I asked, not sure which teenager to look at.

"Like praying, kind of. Just call out, see if you get any responses." Annabeth confirmed, then inclined her head slightly, as if saying _Well, go on then_!

So I closed my eyes and started thinking.

_Hey, um…so, dad I never knew I had that might not be my dad, if I'm your kid, um…give me a sign, I guess. Well…bye? If you're listening?_

I opened my eyes and blushed.

"That was…weird. Is anything different?"

Annabeth shook her head. Nico pushed himself up.

"Well, my area or expertise has passed." And he walked out, leaving me alone with Annabeth, who walked over and sat on the foot of my bed.

"You're taking this all really well, Marissa. I'm impressed." She stated simply, and I could tell she'd seen a lot of kids my age who freaked out. I was freaking out, yes, but emotions are layers I choose not to wear. But for some reason I decided to just stay silent.

"I'm really sorry about your mom." She said, and tears started to overflow in my eyes yet again. I was pretty sure I'd cried more in the past three days than I have in the past year.

"Why did she have to die?" I was crying now, but softly. "And why can't I see my family?"

It might've been my imagination, but I though I saw tears in the older girl's eyes.

"It's not safe for you there anymore, Marissa. I'm so, so, sorry." I started to get angry. What makes her able to tell me what I can do? My mom just _died_.

"What do you mean, not _safe_?" I questioned, my face getting redder by the second. "How is it that my family isn't safer than some random strangers that found me and took me to some random hospital? I'd really, _really _like to know." I was getting more and more worked up, and my vision started to go dark, and I thought I was going to black out again, until I noticed that Annabeth was staring at me. I looked at my hands, and I promptly freaked out, because they were surrounded in a sort of black glowing aura. It died down fast, but Annabeth

"Listen, I know this is a lot, and you can talk to your family later, but it isn't safe to go back. Right now, I think you need to at least introduce yourself to the rest of the crew."


	2. Chapter 2: An Introduction

We walked out of the infirmary, and down a hallway, and ended up in some sort of dining room with weird walls, like a summer camp video. Seven kids were sitting there, but I only recognized two of them; Nico, and the guy with the sword from the crash, Percy.

The other people there looked a bit older than Nico, but younger than Percy and Annabeth. One guy had short blond hair, a cute but serious face, and a little scar on his upper lip. Another was Chinese-looking and really muscular, with a shaved head-unlike the other guy, who was skinny with curly hair, and the face a guy at school would make before he tells a stupid joke. There was a really pretty girl with choppy brown hair and, eyes that looked like a bunch of different colors marbled together. The other girl, the one that looked closet to my age, had curly, cinnamon-y hair and eyes that reminded me of my mother's…don't think about it. If you think about it you're going to start crying and if you cry everyone's going to get a terrible impression of you…

I started blinking really fast, but I got the tears to subside. I realized that they were all looking at me. Annabeth put her hand on my shoulder lightly.

"Guys, this is Marissa. She's a daughter of Hades." Nico looked shocked for a second, then I think he smiled for a second more before putting on a bemused _Well, then_ face. The youngest-looking girl's eyes widened, which didn't help me ignore them. Everyone else just stared, until one spoke.

"Seriously?" The serious blond guy said. Annabeth nodded with a sort of finality. "This is wrong. It has to be wrong. Not only did the prophecy only name seven, but we already have Nico with us!"

Percy and Annabeth both looked at him, like they were saying _Pity her_. The pretty girl with the choppy brown hair studied me.

"Hades? No offense, but you don't look like the typical Hades kid." She stole a glance at Nico.

"It doesn't matter, though. I'm Piper. That blond guy who's _being kind of a jerk right now_ is Jason. The really buff guy's name is Frank. He can turn into a bear. The one that looks like an elf with a lit firecracker is Leo. And she" Piper pointed at the girl with the curly hair, who was sitting next to her. "She's Hazel."

I nodded awkwardly. "And…you're all demigods, too?" The word felt awkward in my mouth. _Demigod_. She nodded. Then the Leo kid spoke up.

"Also, we just so happen to be the demigods with the supermegaawesome special powers. Frank can to a bear, yeah, but also any other animal, Hazel can summon gems and gold that's cursed and is also from the 1930's, Jason can fly and has a lightning pony, Piper once stole a BMW just by asking for it," He made a big deal of pausing, holding up a finger and gasping for air, before he continued. "Percy can control water and is pretty much invincible in it, Nico can summon ghosties and is from the 20th century as well, I can make fire with my hands, and Annabeth…well, Annabeth's smart." Annabeth shot a joking glare at him.

"Um, wow, ….okay." I felt my face get hot. "So…what happens now?"

Percy had been thinking the entire time, I guess, because he said something almost right away.

"You have to go with us to finish the quest." This time, everyone looked at him with an _Are you serious _expression, mouths open and eyes wide; except for Annabeth, who stood by me, looking like she knew this was going to happen.

"It isn't safe for her back in Rome, especially as a kid of the Big Three, we definitely can't go back to America just to leave her at Camp Half-Blood, and nobody's going to be able to come up here to get her."

"Well, where's she gonna sleep?" Hazel asked, and I could hear a bit of an accent. Everyone's expressions changed.

"I could probably build something for her…but no mattress." Leo said. Hazel smiled.

"You can share with me." Hazel said, and Leo looked at her like she was completely insane.

"It's a thing that girls do, Leo." Piper said. "And they are pretty much sisters." Leo just shrugged.

"Are you hungry, Marissa?" Piper asked, her kaleidoscope eyes way softer than Nico's or Annabeth's. "We have pizza."

I looked down towards the floor. "I'm vegetarian." It was stupid to even be thinking about with everything that's been happening, but I've been a vegetarian as long as I could remember, and it was something to hold onto in the middle of this mess.

"Me too," Piper smiled. "It's cheese."

I looked up to Annabeth, kind of asking permission. She's been taking care of me, apparently, and I felt like he was someone to lean on. She nodded, and I walked over to the table, but there weren't any other chairs. Piper noticed, and she scooted over. I carefully sat down, and grabbed a piece.

"Isn't it a little cliché, eating pizza in Rome?" I managed a weak smile, which looked tiny compared to the grin that crossed Leo's face quickly.

"I think I like you, Marissa." He said through the smile.

"So, explain to me how you know that she's a kid of the old bag of bones?" Nico asked, not eating; just drinking a purplish-red juice that might've been pomegranate.

Annabeth's slight smile instantly vanished. "She was upset about not being able to see her family, and she was getting worked up, but she started glowing black. It was…empty. I…I felt…like I was back in T-" This was the first time I'd seen Annabeth look scared. "Tartarus."

Percy's expression grew unsettled, too. "Are you…are you serious, Annabeth?"

She nodded grimly, and Nico's eyes changed, getting even more intense.

"I need to see this, Annabeth."

"Nico, she-" Annabeth tried to argue, but I felt the need to prove myself, to be more than just dead weight…poor choice of words. I stood up quickly from my scarce seating on the edge of Piper's chair.

"I can show him, Annabeth, I'm fine."

"But-" Annabeth tried again.

"_Annabeth_." I said, and I felt my vision go a little gray, before going back to normal.

"Come on, I'll take you to the armory room." Nico said.

I went on another adventure through the hallways, this time going down a steep set of stairs, as well. We ended up in a room with padded walls, a _lot_ of weapons, and a few targets. Nico turned to face me.

"Okay, so I guess you should show me first. Try to get angry."

It wasn't hard; I just thought about all of the awful, unfair crap that's happened to me over the past few days, and I was glowing black again. Nico looked surprised, and confused, but like all of his other emotions, they only showed up for a second.

"I guess now you try to do something about it…try to channel it." He shrugged, disturbingly nonchalant. "Focus on that target." He pointed to one of the smaller targets.

I focused on it. I kind of gritted my teeth and stared at it, not really sure what to do. I got frustrated thinking about everything for so long, and I screamed. There was a really loud burst, and a lot of black. My vision had to clear, and then I saw the wreckage. The target, wall around it, and some of another target, were blackened, and you could see purplish smoke clinging to it. The black kind of slid around the wall towards the general area of the target, and it collapsed in on itself and disappeared, leaving a dark outline of a circle where the target had been.

Nico whistled. "That's rather impressive…you should work on controlling that, though." I blushed, my vision cleared, but then started to pale quickly. My knees buckled, and I fell to the ground. Nico was by me pretty fast, and I was pretty sure he actually looked concerned. I heard a loud noise and a lot of footsteps, and the other kids were there.

"Dude, what was that-oh my gods…" I heard what sounded kind of like Percy's voice, but I wasn't sure; I wasn't all that familiar with his voice yet.

"W-what happened to her?" I heard another guy talk, and it was either Frank or Jason-I couldn't really discern the two.

"I—I don't know…she…she was trying to use her…darkness stuff…target got absorbed..." From my weird view on the floor, I could see his arm go off in the direction of the wall.

"But, what was the explosion, and the scream? Why is she on the ground?" Annabeth's voice registered with me, and I could hear her concerned frown through her words.

"The explosion…that was her using her…power, I guess it is. I think that using it shocked her system," Nico answered, shaking his head slowly.

"I'm…o…kay…" I managed to get out weakly. Annabeth stopped frowning, and bent down, so her face was closer. The pale started to melt from my eyes, but I'd landed on my broken arm, and I bit my lip, trying to keep from crying any more than I had these past two days.

"Gods, your arm! You need to get off of that!" I could tell it was Hazel; she had a faint accent. I saw Frank's head, and I was lifted and propped against one of the blue pads on the wall.

"Ow," I moaned.

"Gods, sorry, Marissa...I didn't mean to hurt you." He said, and I felt a little bad, but he'd grabbed me by my shoulders, and it _had _hurt.

The white had faded away from my eyes. Annabeth turned to Piper.

"Can you go get her ambrosia? Just a square." She requested, and the brunette nodded and left the room. Everyone talked nervously, but it was all way too fast for me to follow, and I was tired, so I just closed my eyes.

"Wake up." I heard a really strong voice, and I opened my eyes, even though I was still tired. I couldn't help it. I was back in the weird hospital room, but this time only the girl with the eyes, Piper, was sitting there.

"You fell asleep, and Annabeth, Nico and Frank freaked out and said you needed to go back to the infirmary." She said with a calm, kind, expression on her face. I tried to rub the sleep from my eyes.

"Piper, since you're here, could you…" Piper stood up, but like she was ready to get something for me.

"Can you tell me about this quest?" I finished. Piper looked surprised for a second, but nodded seriously. She told me about what had happened to Jason and Percy, and Nico, and Annabeth; and how there weren't only gods, there were titans and giants, and the giants and the oldest goddess, Gaea, are evil, and they're trying to keep them from remembering the world.

"Uh…wow." I felt more like baggage than I had before. "I feel useless."

Piper shook her head. "You're a daughter of Hades, Marissa. That god isn't always our favorite, but he's a big deal. It can't be a coincidence, and even if it is, you can't be left to die. And Nico…" Piper bit her lip. "He lost a sister before, according to Percy. He can't lose another."

I believed her. I didn't have a reason not to, but I feel like she could've been my kidnapper and I would've believed anything she said.

"Well…I feel fine now, so can I leave?" I asked, and Piper laughed and nodded. It was kind of disturbing how all of their laughs were weighed—tied to a sort of bitterness.

I got up and walked out to the hallway. "I'll take you to Hazel's room."

We had to go back up the stairs, and we were in front of a hall with seven doors, not spaced very far apart. Piper knocked while I kind of stood there awkwardly. Hazel opened the door, and her serious face morphed into a small smile.

"Marissa!" She said cheerily, but kind of like she was surprised, like I was a friend that surprised her and expected to stay the night. "Come in, I guess."

It was simple furniture wise—a small bed with a gold blanket, a black desk, a black dresser. But the walls were covered with tacked-on drawings, and on the ceiling, there were a bunch of crystals arranged like constellations. Only…those looked…sharper than crystals.

"Are those actually diamonds?" I asked, and I felt my eyes go wide, but Piper and Hazel just laughed.

"Yeah, but don't take them; they're cursed." I stared at them, kind of hoping my eyeballs didn't fall out of their sockets.

"I-I-I wasn't going to-" They just laughed again.

"Good," Hazel said, then she walked a little closer to me and started looking at me.

"I wasn't sure if it was possible for a child of Hades to have hair like that." She said, reaching out to touch it, but she just blushed and moved it back to her side.

"Seriously. It's gorgeous, though." Piper said, getting up from Hazel's bed that she'd been sitting on and walking up to face me. "And you can trust me," She added, using a flamboyant British accent and flipping her choppy hair. "I'm a daughter of Aphrodite."

She and Hazel started laughing again, but it was different. It sounded natural, like they were just two freshman hanging out at lunch. It was kind of sad how they could seem so serious and bitter, but then start acting just like normal kids.

"Speaking of Aphrodite, what are you going to do for clothes?" Piper said. I looked down and realized that I was still in the clothes from my audition…a black leotard, white tights that had a lot of holes and runs in them, and one of those see-through-ish light blue skirts layered over it. I really hadn't had time to think about clothes, what with finding out I'm part god and having my mom…well, that.

"You might be able to fit into my clothes…they're going to be kind of big." Piper offered. "I would say Hazel's, but she doesn't really have much more than what she's wearing…she kind of had to leave in a hurry." Hazel laughed, but not like she had earlier. It was weighed again. "Let's go to my room."

Her room was just next door. Hers was much simpler than Hazels, just with plain wood furniture, and a weird horn thing on the dresser.

Piper walked over to her dresser and opened it. She pulled out a pair of jeans and an orange tee shirt that said "Camp Half-Blood" on it.

"I didn't have much either; most times half-bloods leave in a hurry." She handed the clothes to me. "I got these from other Aphrodite kids, so they might fit you better than anything of mine would."

I looked down at the clothes, than back up at them like I was stupid. "So…um, where can I change into this?" I asked.

"You can go back to my room too change." Hazel said. I nodded, and left awkwardly.

It was weird to change in her room-I was scared someone was going to walk in—but I got everything on okay. It wasn't a perfect fit; the jeans were a little bit looser than I was used to, but they stayed on fine. The shirt was fine, and surprisingly soft for a camp tee shirt. I've been to a few summer camps in my life, and the shirts they have are usually rough. I walked back over to Piper's room. Hazel smiled, and Piper clapped, which was weird. I figured they were just trying to get my spirits up, but Piper kept going.

"You look rather fabulous, if I do say so myself." She laughed. "I knew that would fit you. Actually, how old are you, Marissa? We don't even know."

"I'm twelve." I blushed. I didn't want to get dismissed because of my age again. Hazel raised her eyebrows for a second.

"I figured you were thirteen." She said casually. "You're pretty mature, and you look older." I blushed even harder.

"Well, I'm in dance so I guess I'm a bit more developed, and the rest is just genetics I guess." I semi-rambled.

Piper and Hazel started laughing. "Calm down," Piper said through her giggles. "We aren't going to put you in diapers." I started laughing, too. Hazel and Piper were nice; I shouldn't be so freaked out.

There was a knocking on the door, and Annabeth walked in. She looked surprised to see all of us laughing. "Well, you're getting used to this all pretty easily." Annabeth said.

She sat down on the bed. She'd brushed out her hair, and I noticed a streak of gray for a split second, until she tucked it behind her ear.

"Piper, can I have a sandwich or something? I didn't get to eat much dinner, you know with-" She looked at me for a moment, then changed topics. I figured they'd been talking about me, especially after Piper told me how big of a deal this whole "quest" was.

"Sorry." I said, and Annabeth blushed.

"It's just that the quest is a big deal, and finding a daughter of Hades during it isn't just something that can be ignored."

"It's okay." I nodded, and Piper turned to look at Annabeth.

"I told her about the quest," She said, all laughter gone.

Annabeth nodded. "She needed to know. On a less serious note, can I still get a sandwich?" She asked.

Piper smiled, and walked over to her dresser. She grabbed the horn thing, pressed it against her hand, and when she lifted it, there was a grilled cheese sandwich in her palm. She handed it to Annabeth, still holding the horn.

"So…gods, guys that can summon fire, horns that can make food appear…anything else?" Hazel laughed.

"Not at the moment." Piper said. "Do you want one too, Marissa? You didn't get to eat much last night either." I nodded, but then I thought about what she'd just said. _Last night_. That meant I'd been gone for…three days, and my family had no idea where me or mom were.

"I need to talk to my family." I said suddenly, right in the middle of a bite of grilled cheese.

Annabeth looked at me, and brushed off her mouth for any stray crumbs. "You could Iris Message them." She said. I had no idea what that was, but nodded.

"Piper, can you make mist from that thing?" Annabeth asked the girl, who was just about to put the horn back on her dresser.

"Maybe," She frowned. "I mean, it's water…" She held the horn with both hands, closed her eyes for a second, and a gentle mist started spraying out of the severed end and into the air. Annabeth reached into her pocket and pulled out a gold coin. She smiled for second, like she was remembering something, before she threw the coin into the mist and said, "O Fleecy, do me a solid. Show-" She paused to look at me.

"Olette Reymond at the Barcelo Hotel." I said, choosing the trumpeter because she was the oldest.

"Olette Reymond at the Barcelo Hotel," Annabeth copied.

Her face appeared in the mist, like a screen. You could see her amber eyes widen when she saw me.

"Marissa! What's happening? Where are you? We thought you were dead!" She started asking a million questions, and each one made me sadder and sadder, like sandbags.

"Olette…m-m-mom…mom's…she's dead." I felt tears start to fall down my cheeks but I didn't care.

"Izzy, I-I already knew that." Olette started crying, too. "We got a call…they found her in the car…but—but-you weren't there…are you okay, Marissa?"

I was full on crying again. "I'm okay, Ollie. I'm sorry. I…saw mom before she died," I said, deciding to simplify it. "She told me…I was a daughter of Hades."

My sister nodded, makeup streaking down her face. "Marissa, we all—we all knew that. Mom made us—made us k-keep it from you…I'm sorry." She wailed. I was shocked-they _knew_?—but I was too sad to be angry.

"Some other…they say we're called demigods…they found me," I gestured to Annabeth, Hazel, and Piper, who were being completely silent. I think I saw Annabeth crying, but I turned back to Olette. "I'm safe, Ollie. I'm safe." She was still crying, but she nodded.

"Stay that way, Marissa. Stay that way. I love you."

I felt two more tears trace my cheeks.

"I love you too, Ollie…I love you, too." I said, and the mist faded away.

**Author's note this time...sorry, I'll make this short. I just decided to write this randomly, and it might be silly, but I can't believe I already have two reviews for something I uploaded this morning! But I know OC's get bad reps, and I wanted to try to make one my own. I want to leave everything as canon as possible, to be honest, even the Argo II ship layout. (I'll put a link to the website on my profile!)**

**I really appreciate anyone who reads this, and I'll accept any ideas or constructive criticism you have for the story! Also-I don't really have a schedule for this, and an (unfortunate) history of disappearing from the face of the Earth, but I really enjoy writing this story and I'll try to write and upload whenever I can!**

** -dqgilly**


	3. Chapter 3: Flowing On

I sat there crying for a while, until someone spoke—Hazel, I think.

"A-are…are you going to be okay, Marissa?" She asked softly.

I snapped back. I couldn't just be a burden…these guys are trying to save the world, and I was sitting there whining. I wiped the tears from my eyes and shook my head.

"Yeah, no, I'm…I'm fine." I managed a smile.

"Are you sure?" Or maybe it was Annabeth. Or Piper. I couldn't tell.

"I'm fine, I promise." I tried. They stopped asking.

"Maybe you should talk to Nico…he might be able to help you." Hazel said. I nodded again, then got up and left.

Nico didn't have a room on the ship, but I found him in the training room—not training, just sitting there, looking at some weird little figurine…it might've been Poseidon; it had a little trident thingy. I coughed a little, and he looked up, startled.

"Oh…hey, Marissa…how are you?" He asked, shoving the toy into his pocket.

I looked down, not wanting to answer. Then I realized I was glowing again. Not a black this time, but more of a dark purplish…had I been doing that this whole time? Is that why Hazel said I should go to Nico?

"Just help me control this mess." I said, frustrated. Was this my power? Being emo?

He smiled grimly. "Okay, sis." Sis. I started glowing a little more. Nico pushed himself up.

"So, it seems like your powers are controlled through emotion. Don't mind me asking but…are you sad right now?" He started. I tried to put on another ceramic smile, but it cracked.

I nodded, looking at the floor. He thought for a second.

"Okay, so what we're gonna do now is-" And then he promptly stepped on my foot.

"Ow! What the…what the hell…" I said, distracted by the glow around me, going from purple to a kind of dark magenta.

"I think…I'm pretty sure your powers are based on the five rivers of Hades. There's the Acheron, the river of woe, the Cocytus, the river of wailing, the Lethe, which is the river of forgetfulness or oblivion, The Phlegethon, which translates to 'fire-flaming' in English, and of course the Styx, which translates to hate or detest." He said.

I guessed it fit, but I still wasn't completely convinced. This whole thing still felt weird to me.

"If these powers are based on my emotions, how come they haven't shown up before?" I inquired.

"Well, you're twelve, right?" He paused for me to nod. "Well, that's around the age powers start to really show up. Maybe it's happened before, just faintly."

I nodded slowly…

I was nodding a lot. I figured that was a good thing.

"Well, let's try channeling it again." He said, looking a little nervous.

The next hour was one of bruised toes, dug up emotions, and a lot of damaged targets. When I used the magenta glow, the target started to glow, then incinerated, leaving a bunch of ashes. The black glow still absorbed them, and the purple glow froze it in a kind of indigo casing, like hard candy, but it was brittle and shattered when Nico went up to inspect it. We also found another glow, a dark blue one that started when I cried. It made the target turn into a smoke that same color and dissipate.

I think I got kind of exhausted from using all of that energy, because I fell over. Nico rushed over, I'm sure thinking I had fainted again. When he saw that I was still conscious, he gave me his hand to help me up. I grabbed it, and then suddenly everything changed, going from black to gray to white.

I was back in the same…nothingness I was in when I said goodbye to Mom…

_Stop, _I told myself. _You have to stop being so weak._

But something was different this time; standing next to me was a stunned-looking Nico.

"Is this…where you were with you mother…?"He asked, and I nodded, not focusing. He followed my gaze, and his eyes widened as his jaw dropped.

In front of us, there were two girls—you could tell they were mother and daughter, and looking at Nico, he was probably related to them, too. Had he lost his mom, also?

The woman looked Italian, and beautiful in an older way. Her hair was styled like my mother's had been, with too many loops and braids to explain, but her dress was different-styled in black and silver.

The girl was my age, eleven or twelve, maybe, but she looked strong…even in this white nothing she was glowing more brilliant than any of us. She had a sprinkle of freckles on her nose, and her dark eyes looked heavy. Her hair, matching both her mother's and her brother's, was free of the elaborate hairstyle her mom possessed; it was simple, down, with strands of hair braided with silver. Her dress was very, very bright silver, like it had been painted with glitter and moondust.

"B-b…bi…Bianca?" Nico stuttered, walking slowly towards the pair. "…Mom?"

He speed up, walking over to the girl-I guess her name was Bianca—and reaching a hand out to touch her face. She smiled.

"You've grown so much, Nico. I haven't seen you for so long…" Nico was still staring at her like she was flashing red lights.

"But you…you went for rebirth…" His tone was becoming confused. Her eyes gleamed, and for a second she looked into the distance. You might've said she was looking at me, but I don't know why she would be.

"Yes, I did." She said simply, like the matter was closed.

"But…how are you here? How are you…_solid_…? The last time I saw you was with Percy, and you were…like a ghost then!" I saw a slight smile threatening to grow on his face.

"Her powers are different from yours. You summon the dead faceless, hoping that a familiar face will show up. She has more detail because she only summons the people that are close to her, or the one she takes with her." She said, and I shifted my weight from one foot to the other. It was weird for someone to know more about my powers than I did; it made me feel dumb.

Nico raised an eyebrow. "How do you know all of that?"

Bianca looked to the ground—or what might've been the ground. The whole dimension was just flat white. "Daughter of Hades thing, I guess."

"I hate to interrupt, but may I talk to my son?" The woman asked, smiling. She really was gorgeous. He grinned, and for a second he reminded me of the eighth grade boys at my school. But his eyes darkened again. They were always…heavy. I realized I was technically his only living family, if the Greek and Roman gods were as complex as everyone said they were.

Nico started crying. He hugged his mother, and she held him. It was weird to see him, all of a sudden, with so much emotion. Maybe…no, these were definitely the emotions he kept hidden all of the time. His tears ran off her dress like mercury, and she held him.

"_Mi sei mancato negli inferi, figlio mio. Mi dispiace che ho dovuto lasciare quando eri così giovane." _She said, and two things struck me at once. One, she was speaking Italian, and two, I understood her. In English, the words were _"I have, missed you in the underworld, my son. I am sorry I had to leave you when you were so young."_

Nico responded in Italian as well. _"Non è colpa tua. Mi sei mancato, anche la mamma."_

"_It isn't you fault. I missed you, too, mom."_

They kept talking, but I stopped paying attention to them, because Bianca was walking up to me. She smiled softly. "So this is who…" She shook her head, like she was trying to get something out of her head. "I'm Bianca, your…sister, I suppose. Marissa, I believe?"

I knit my eyebrows. How would she have known my name? She quickly blushed in a silvery tone, like her blood was platinum. "I know that because…I got information about you when you grabbed Nico and brought him here."

I frowned slightly. Not only was it like she'd read my mind, but…

"How did you know how Nico and I got here? And how do you know so much about my powers? Nico didn't know that much, and he's more experienced than you…I mean, if you found out at the same time."

"_σκατά…"_ She muttered in Greek, and I understood that, too, though it definitely wasn't anything as heartfelt as what Nico and his mother were saying.

"Bianca, I don't know you, but you seem to know me, and I want to know how." That wasn't true. I did know her—I just didn't remember her. There was a strong tugging in my head, something familiar…like a treasure chest that you can see the top of, but that's still too far covered with sand to pull out.

She sighed and looked down. "I can't…I—I shouldn't…I mustn't." I stared at her, frustrated, and she made the mistake of meeting my eyes. I didn't mean to, but I was letting out all of my frustration, my sadness, all of the awfulness I had felt not just over the past few days, but in my whole life. The black sheep, the screw up black sheep with the dead mother, the screw up black sheep with the dead mother that cries too much, the screw up—

"Okay, okay, I'll tell you." She said, her eyes wide, almost like she was in pain.

"Do you know about the layout of Hades?" She asked.

"Yeah…The Fields of Punishment, the Fields of Asphodel, Elysium, and the Isles of the Blessed." I answered. She nodded.

"And do you know how one _gets_ into the Isles of the Blessed?" She pressed gently.

"You…" I bit my lip, trying to recall my sixth grade World History class. We'd had a chapter on Greek culture. "You had to…choose to be reborn three times, I think—and get Elysium all three times, right?"

Bianca nodded. "I went to Elysium when I died. And I chose rebirth."

My eyes widened. Was she—was she seriously saying what I thought she was saying. Bianca slowly looked down, biting her lip and nodding.

"But—when you do that—can you be a demigod again—same parent…how do you know?" I demanded, not able to get any other words out.

"Can't you feel it? In your head?" I blinked.

'Yeah…yeah, I can."

"And…it's like a little bit of my old consciousness is awake inside your head. I can see inside. I know so much about you…but I've told you so much already. I shouldn't tell you anymore." She said, looking at me, unblinking.

I reached out and touched her thin shoulder. Suddenly, the faint tugging in my head got hot, painful, like it was on fire, or being electrocuted. My vision got white and blurry. Bianca grabbed my hand and moved it off of her shoulder quickly.

"You can't do that!" She said. For a second, my vision switched. I saw myself in some weird metal control room, and in the monitors I could see four kids, two of them looking like Annabeth and Percy. Then, back to the nothing.

Nico walked over, holding his mom's hand like no other eighth grade boy that I knew, his face tearstained but his dark eyes glimmering with joy. But they darkened again when he saw how serious Bianca and I must've looked.

_You can tell him, but wait until you're back in the real world._ I heard Bianca's voice in my head.

_How are you…can we do that? _I responded.

_I'm not sure if it will work all of the time, but it's working now, _She answered.

"Nico, you and Marissa have to leave now. You've only been gone for maybe thirty seconds."

Nico nodded, the darkness flooding back into his eyes. He hugged his mother, then walked over and hugged Bianca.

"Grab my hand," I said, suddenly sure of how to get back. His hand folded into mine, and again the white darkened to gray, which darkened to black, and then we were back in the training room.

"Marissa…what were you talking about with Bianca?" He said slowly, more curious than suspicious.

I hung my head. "I'm not sure how you'll react to this, but…" I took a breath. "I'm Bianca. Or…I mean, I guess it's more like I used to be her. She was reborn, and when she was reborn, she was me…does that make sense?"

Nico's eyes were steely again, and he shook his head. "That's not true."

I grabbed his hand and looked into his eyes. I let out the rest of my emotion into that stare. "You can't say you don't feel it. She said that a piece of her conscious was in my head. _I_ feel it…"

Nico's eyes widened, and it was almost like they lightened a shade. He hugged me suddenly, and I froze, shocked by the display of emotion.

"I felt it since your eyes opened. I just…I just thought it was because I think of her so much. I don't know if she can hear me, but I want her to know I've thought about her every day since she left for her quest."

The door opened. Annabeth, Percy, and Hazel walked in. "Hey, Marissa, we just wanted to-"

They all stopped, frozen. I realized what it looked like to them. Nico, a guy who I could tell by now was pretty much always stoic, was hugging me, crying on my shoulder.

"Um…" Percy said.

"Is…is he okay?" Hazel said, her eyes like my mother's as big as marbles. Annabeth was silent, her moth gaping slightly.

"I think so. It's a long story."

We all moved to the mess hall—by which I mean Nico and I were guided gently to the mess hall by Hazel while Percy and Annabeth slammed on the doors of everyone else's rooms so loud we could hear them through the closed doors of the room.

"So…are you okay, Nico? What…what happened…?" I stole a glance at my brother. His eyes had hardened once again. He noticed that I was looking at him, and his eyes displayed a message: I couldn't tell them about my being Bianca…kind of. It was weird, but then again, everything happening to me lately has been weird. I could feel a sort of energy, and that same pulling in my head. Telling them wouldn't help anything.

Percy and Annabeth walked in, followed by Jason, Leo, Piper, and Frank. Frank's hair looked damp, like he had been in the shower, Leo's shirt was covered in oil and singe holes, and Piper was blushing, glancing at Jason and Annabeth quickly—but their expressions all immediately turned to shock when they saw the tear streaks on Nico's face.

I explained the incident with the nothing place, with Nico and Bianca and their mom…_Marie_, a voice in my head said her name was. Nico sat there, twisting a silver skull ring around his finger.

"I didn't think you'd be able to do that…" Annabeth said, almost as if to herself. "Letting others communicate with the ones that were close to them…that's…"

It struck me that Annabeth was probably someone that would see more than a few people in the nothing.

"I-it…it was more than talking." Nico spoke for the first time since they found us, his voice cracking. "I talked to Bianca once, a few years ago. But…I could touch her. She was there, physically. T-they…they _both_ were…"

I nodded, looking at him. He wasn't looking at anybody, though. Just staring.

"There's something else. The black aura around me…I have other ones."

Hazel, Piper, and Annabeth all nodded. "Back in my room, you were glowing purple, Marissa. That's why-"

"You sent me to Nico, yeah. But we found out…I have glows for the rivers of Hades. Hate, fire, woe, wailing, and…I think maybe oblivion is where I am when I'm in the nothing."

"That makes sense." Jason said.

I suddenly felt exhausted, now that all of the new information had left my system.

"I think I'm gonna go to sleep now…" I said before my head hit the table.

"Bianca!" Nico shouted, panicked. My head shot back up, the adrenaline I thought had passed rushing back into me.

"Nico!" I yelled back, and I didn't know if it was completely…well, me.

"What did you just call her…?" Annabeth asked.

"Nothing-" He said, at the same time I said "Bianca."

Eyebrows raised.

"This is what I get for telling the abridged version, I guess." I said nervously. Eyes were on me as I explained the whole story.

**Hello there...**

**So I uploaded the first two chapters really fast, but then school got crazy, but recently it's lightened up a bit and I've had time to write. So, I was wondering if you guys thought the whole Bianca thing was lame, or if it was good. I'm not going to bring it up every five words in the story, but I thought it would add a cool element to the plot. **

**And in another attempt to gain pity from the maybe one person who waited for this chapter, I just want to point out again that I do a borderline absurd amount of reasearch when I write. For example, this time I was educated on the rivers of Hades. There are technically more, but those rivers are believed to be based on real rivers.**

**And as a key:**

**The Phlegethon=Magenta Glow**

**The Acheron=Purple Glow**

**The Cocytus=Blue Glow**

**The Styx=Black Glow**

**And yes, the nothing-realm that Marissa constantly finds herself in is based on the river Lethe.**

**Any constructive criticism is welcome! I'm open to ideas or pointing out of errors!**

**~dqgilly (隠された, κρυμμένο)**


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